Dunn: Auction details released for Newport Sports Museum memorabilia

John Hamilton is the founder of the Newport Sports Museum. PAUL BERSEBACH,, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Auction details

The first of four phases in selling off sports memorabilia from the closed Newport Sports Museum in Newport Beach will begin April 30 through SCP Auctions, museum founder John Hamilton said Tuesday.

The auction company’s website, scpauctions.com, states that the hundreds of items up for bid will be available online or by telephone at 949-831-3700.

“The first phase will be baseball and basketball, and will last for two weeks into May, then later (in the second phase) we will begin selling other items from football, golf and hockey,” Hamilton said. The final two phases are expected to conclude by the summer.

Hamilton said he has received numerous inquiries from people interested in buying various items and artifacts from his sports memorabilia collection since the Register published an online story about the museum's closing on Friday.

Among the first items to be auctioned include authenticated game-worn jerseys by former Dodger greats Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale in their Cy Young Award seasons. Koufax’s autographed jersey is from 1965, when he threw his perfect game and fourth career no-hitter, while garnering his second of three Cy Young Awards. The autographed Drysdale jersey is from 1962, Big D’s only Cy Young season. Both are members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

One of the few non-baseball or basketball items available during the first phase of the auction will be a Wayne Gretzky game-worn and autographed jersey from the Los Angeles Kings. Hamilton said that available game-worn jerseys from the Great One are extremely rare. The Gretzky jersey is accompanied by three letters of authenticity, including one by Gretzky.

“The whole catalog (of the museum items) will be available for viewing online later in the month,” Hamilton said.

In the second phase of the auction, Hamilton said he expects a lot of bidding activity on Babe Didrikson’s golf clubs.

It is a sad day when perhaps the most venerable sports entity in Newport-Mesa is officially closing its doors.

After 18 years of serving as a nonprofit organization to help at-risk children and housing one of the greatest sports memorabilia collections anywhere, the Newport Sports Museum in Newport Beach has closed. Founder John Hamilton will begin selling off a lifetime’s worth of balls, jerseys, autographs and artifacts.

“It’s just time,” said Hamilton, 72, who cited a variety of reasons for the closure, including his personal health and desire to spend more time with his family. “It’s like (putting down) the family’s hunting dog. It’s painful. But it’s the right thing to do.”

In January, the Newport Sports Museum was robbed of several baseballs during what is believed to have been a late-night break-in, shortly after the museum hosted a public viewing of the Coaches’ Trophy for the BCS national championship game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. At the time, Hamilton was in the hospital following knee-replacement surgery and said that was the “final straw” in his decision to shut down the museum.

“It’s a sad moment because we’ve been so supportive for 18 years in the community, allowing people to come in with no charge and it’s been important to never charge,” Hamilton said. “We’ve also mentored 100,000 at-risk kids, and not just in the museum, but they’ve met a lot of athletes who have talked about their difficult personal backgrounds. We have got a lot of rewards out of it.”

Hamilton started the Newport Sports Museum in 1995, along with several of his sports celebrity friends, including former Angels second baseman Bobby Grich, baseball Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson, hockey star Marcel Dionne and Heisman Trophy winner and former USC and NFL running back Mike Garrett. The museum offered special programs, such as the Legacy Leadership Project, Athlete Outreach, Sport Yourself and Career Choices, with a mission to keep kids in school and off drugs by getting them involved in athletics.

Hamilton’s charitable endeavors will continue through his involvement with the Lott IMPACT Trophy, which is awarded annually to the nation’s top defensive college football player at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach. IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity. Hamilton is the chairman and founder of the trophy named after Ronnie Lott, the former USC All-American and NFL Hall of Fame safety.

The Newport Sports Museum served as a favorite location for many soirées, dinners and special events, and Hamilton’s sports memorabilia collection is one of the largest in the world.

While the museum featured impressive displays of baseball, football, basketball, golf, tennis, hockey, boxing and Olympic sports, the building also has an indoor basketball court, an outside patio and the most fantastic baseball basement known to mankind. The lower-level room is filled with original old-time baseball stadium seats and a mural of former Angel Nolan Ryan pitching his final strike of his record fourth no-hitter against the Orioles with Grich at bat on June 1, 1975.

The museum has more than 10,000 items of sports memorabilia, including prominent pieces such as Babe Ruth’s last home run ball, which is signed, the puck from Wayne Gretzky’s 900th goal and hundreds of game-worn and autographed jerseys from all sports. Admission and parking were free.

Hamilton, who operates a commercial real estate company, said Thursday that he plans to lease out the space in the Newport Center building he owns. The facility would be an ideal location for a sports-themed restaurant, while keeping the mural intact.

Hamilton also said he plans to keep some of his collection, including the USC football jerseys of Garrett and Jon Arnett and eight baseballs signed by U.S. presidents.

Hamilton grew up in Orange County and began his collection at age 12 in 1953 when he was given a signed football from the Look Magazine All-American Football Team.

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